"Guilty Pleasures" by Laurell K. Hamilton is a novel introducing Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. Anita Blake is by trade an animator, one who raises the dead for money. The purpose of raising the dead is usually to grant closure to loved ones, to solve homicides, or resolve other legal matters. Anita was born with the gift of necromancy, the ability to commune with the dead. From the job at Animators, Inc., Anita also became a vampire slayer and federal marshal, one of the few in the country that could legally execute vampires and other members of the undead community.

The story begins with Anita meeting with Willie McCoy, a former weasel turned into two-bit vampire. Willie wants Anita to investigate a string of vampire murders that have been taking place around St. Louis. Anita informs Willie that she is already a part of the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team and therefore, is already working the case. Anita sends Willie away.

Anita becomes deeply embroiled in the case when more victims are found mutilated. It is clear to Anita that vampires are not responsible for killing their own, and it is up to the task force to find the culprit. Due to the betrayal of a friend of a friend, Anita is extorted into working for the vampires to find the killer. Along the way, Anita is shot at, attacked, beat up, knocked unconscious, haunted, tortured, and set upon by wererats.

Anita becomes involved with several members of the underground community including Phillip, a human stripper; Jean-Claude, a master vampire and owner of the strip club Guilty Pleasures; and Nikolaos, Master of the City of St. Louis. Also present are Edward, a fellow vampire slayer; Malcolm, head of the Church of Eternal Life; and Dolph Storr, head of the task force.

Anita was right in the declaration that the vampire killer was not a fellow vampire. Rather, it was a former animator who betrayed his own profession and was responsible for killing six police officers as he gave up his own life. The former animator was brought back from the dead and was required to feed upon the flesh and blood of the undead in order to stay "alive" with the assistance of a voodoo charm called a gris-gris.

Through solid police work and some luck, Anita discovers the killer of the vampires and the murderer is executed, as is the Master of the City, who tried to kill Anita and succeeded in killing others, like Phillip.

Along the way, Anita begins to form a relationship with Jean-Claude, the new master vampire. Anita wants nothing to do with Jean-Claude, who she does not trust. However, Jean-Claude risks the wrath of Nikolaos in order to save Anita's life. That and other circumstances lead Jean-Claude to inflict the first two marks of a vampire upon Anita, which take her on the initial steps of the journey to become Jean-Claude's human servant.